You Are The Reason For The Words 'What If'
by WickedSong
Summary: To an outsider it would seem like the end of a short summer fling. To them, however, it was the beginning of many regrets. Samcedes two shot with SamxOC, MercedesxShane, and canon couples.
1. Nationals, 2012

**You Are The Reason For The Words 'What If'**

**Written by WickedSong**

**Disclaimer : Glee belongs to FOX (I would not have firetrucked up as much as they have now, if I owned it, but more on that in my author's note at the end), and 'If I Knew Then' is the song used, performed by the wonderful Lady Antebellum and originally from their album 'Need You Now' so I do not own that either.**

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><p>This was it. The New Directions were at Nationals, ready to perform, ready to take the judges by surprise and win this whole thing. It had been a year since they had performed on this stage and while members had came and went their resolve to win had simply grown stronger and stronger until finally they were sitting in the audience watching the other choirs before their own.<p>

Mercedes leaned back in her seat, smiling, as she gripped her boyfriend's hand. Shane smiled back at her, telling her, reassuring her, "We'll be great," before returning his attention back to the stage, where the curtain for another choir would be going up in only a moment's time. As she continued to hold his hand, Mercedes thought about Shane and how the two had met in the last month of summer at Breadstix, with Kurt encouraging her to give him her number. Shane was tall, chocolate skinned, with piercing blue eyes and brown hair which was cut short.

They had went on three dates before they had taken the titles of boyfriend and girlfriend to one another and her surprise was very evident when he arrived on the first day of the new school year to Glee Club, auditioning. He had a great voice and could play guitar, something which she found undoubtedly sexy.

Everything, you could say, was perfect and yet...

Yet there was always a voice in the back of her head, which continued to pester her with the what ifs, the what could have been. She didn't entertain that voice often. Going into the past and the first weeks of the summer of 2011 did nothing but bring up old hurt.

She had Shane, she should have been, in no way thinking of anyone else, no matter how adorable, or dorky, or gentlemanly, or good-hearted this someone else had been.

"All the way from Nashville, Tennessee, please welcome, the Country Courters!" the announcer shouted and a polite round of applause went up as a boy walked onto the stage, back turned.

As he began to play the guitar slung around his shoulder, he turned, "_The first time that I saw you looking like you did, we were young, we were restless, just two clueless kids, if I knew then, what I know now, I'd fall in love."_

A collective gasp was heard throughout the New Directions and Mercedes, who hadn't dared looked up at the stage, as the voice she recongised began singing did so for the first time, and even though the hair was shorter and not as blonde as before, she recognised him immediately, and she would deny it, but her heart did a little jump.

"_On a bus in Chicago, three rows to the left, you know my heart was racing for you, we'd never even met, if I knew then, what I know now, I'd fall in love."_

"Is that-"

"It can't be-"

"It is-"

"So that's where he went," said Finn, who sat behind Mercedes, as Sam Evans continued to play his guitar and sing.

"_Cause love only comes, once in a while, knocks on your door, throws you a smile, takes every breath, leaves every scar, speaks to your soul, and sings to your heart, and if I knew then, what I know now, I'd fall in love."_

Mercedes couldn't listen to the song, she didn't even hear Shane when he asked if she was okay, as the grip on his hand she had been holding so tightly slackened. All she could was think that _Sam _was there. That adorable, dorky, gentlemanly, good-hearted guy she had opened up her heart to briefly was standing on stage and it was affecting her.

It was definitely affecting her as she felt her pulse speed up, her palms become sweaty. She tried to think rationally. She hadn't seen this guy in a _year, _and now she was becoming a nervous wreck just staring at him as he sang a slow country song on stage.

They had only dated officially, or as officially as a secret relationship which they had both wanted it to be at that point, for three weeks. But she remembered that it seemed longer than that, their relationship building at prom, into something that went past friendship and being in Glee together.

Then his family had been kicked out of their motel room mercilessly by the owner because they couldn't keep up with the rent in their financial situation. That day they had to pack up their belongings, get into their car, and head for Tennessee to stay with family as they had no other choice. He had come by personally to tell her that. They mutually decided that they would just pretend that nothing ever happened but that logic was harder and harder to see now that he was right there, in front of her, singing a song about second chances in love.

"_Oh, I used up a lot of chances, I can't get them back, but if again it comes calling, I'm going to make it last, cause love only comes, once in a while, knocks on your door, throws you a smile, takes every breath, leaves every scar, speaks to your soul, and sings to your heart, and if I knew then, what I know now, if I knew then, what I know now, I'd fall in love."_

Everyone, except Mercedes, Shane and the other newest members of the club who didn't know Sam, jumped up, in rapturous applause, the newest members not knowing why the rest of the club were going crazy at a random guy from a random choir in Nashville.

"You go, Trouty!" shouted Santana as the others laughed and Mercedes couldn't help but smile when she noticed Sam's face change suddenly into confusion at the nickname but her smile was short-lived as the 'what ifs', the regrets piled up in her head. She was performing soon, after this choir, after _his _choir.

She had to pull herself together. Sam Evans was nothing more than her first dalliance with a real relationship, there could not have been enough time for her to feel anything for him but she had to combat that with the fact that before he left, they spent a lot of time together, smiling, laughing, going on walks, going to the park, babysitting his siblings, things that brought them close together.

She was with Shane now, she loved Shane, she did love Shane, she told herself over and over again, as the Country Courters finished their uptempo group number. She clapped for them, for Sam, before Rachel had everyone up and filing backstage, in an orderly manner.

"Can you believe he was there?" Kurt said to Blaine, the two who stood behind Mercedes and Shane.

"I know, small world, isn't it?" was Blaine's reply to his boyfriend's question.

This seemed to be the topic of conversation for the members of New Directions before their performance started, Mercedes singing solo, Shane smiling kindly to her before she began, taking a deep breath, blowing the roof off of the place with her song as had been predicted.

The group then proceeded into their group number, led by Rachel and Finn. They had decided to cover songs this year after their less than productive original songwriting the previous year.

The music ended, they stood with their heads down, and suddenly everyone was hugging each other and Mercedes felt like it was a year ago and it was Sam seeking her out, going from right across the stage over to her, hugging her. Only this time it was Shane hugging her and she felt awful over thinking about last year and Sam, of all people, hugging her.

She had managed a year without thinking about him, at all. Okay, so that was a lie. She had thought about him but she had never imagined that she would see him again.

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><p>Waiting for the results of the top ten was as nerve wracking as it had been the previous year, no one wanting to experience the heartbreak of not placing yet again. This was when Mercedes came face to face with Sam yet again, ironically, as she had left her friends not wanting to discuss the shock of seeing him on stage. None of them were aware, not even Kurt, of the relationship and as per the 'pretending it never happened', they never would know about it.<p>

What was there to know? That since prom she had had a crush on him, and even if it had been only three weeks, it had been three very happy weeks, three weeks where she had found herself smiling more, feeling generally happier, whenever she heard from him or was with him.

She was walking towards the bathroom when she banged into someone.

"Sorry, that was totally my—Mercedes?"

Mercedes looked up to see Sam staring at her, concerned eyes focused on her and she couldn't help but feel herself blush slightly at him, but luckily he couldn't see that. Thank God he can't, was all she could think.

"Hey there, Sam," she replied quickly, awkwardly.

They both stood there.

"You were awesome by the way."

"You were really really really good up there."

They both spoke over one another and laughed at the other when they noticed this fact. The awkwardness still lingered around but wasn't as present as it was before. Again, Mercedes wondered what the hell there was to be awkward over but she guessed that even three weeks with a guy like Sam would leave a girl with some feelings. She figured he was that kind of person.

"No, but really, you've been deserving of a solo since last year," he said to her, nervously shuffling from foot to foot, like he did when he had asked her to go out with him the previous year. She realised with a start that it had been a year. That was a long time. It was a long time to get over someone and yet, here she was, feeling very much not over him.

She couldn't help but think it was a stupid thought. It was the stupidest thought ever. It was down to the what ifs again, the what could have been between them. In the short time she had thought there could have been something good, maybe even amazing. It was hard to let that go so quickly.

"Thanks," she smiled. "You should go over and see everyone, you know? They all wondered about you..."

"I know, I left so quickly. I'm sorry by the way, I really am, I really wanted things between us to-"

"To work out?" she asked, trying to find a smile, and surprisingly she did, but it was very forced. "Hey, it was only a couple of weeks, no one was hurt, were they?"

She didn't know whether she should have been happy or upset at the expression on Sam's face that said otherwise. It had been how she had felt since he had come to her home, at nine o'clock at night, that Wednesday, told her the full story and then they had shared a quick kiss goodbye, before he walked out of her door, drove out of Lima and effectively her life.

"I guess," he replied, a shred of awkwardness in his voice and she wondered, for one split second, what would have happened had he never left. Would they have stayed together, told their friends, be a couple right now. There was every chance that could have happened.

The prospect of every chance was what made it so hard now.

"But still, everyone else will want to see you. How's life been though? How's your family been?" asked Mercedes, genuinely wondering if things did get better for the Evans' family, God knew they deserved a change in luck.

"Well, my parents both got work, eventually. We moved out of our grandparents' house a few months ago when they did," he answered, nodding his head, smiling as he thought of the improved situation.

Mercedes couldn't help smiling when she heard this. "That's great!" she enthused. "How was your new school?" she questioned, with a smile now. "As good as McKinley."

"Not as much drama," mused Sam, shrugging his shoulders. "Have to say I kinda missed everyone though. Even Santana and the lip jokes."

Both of them laughed at this and Mercedes knew that Sam had heard Santana when she had cheered for him earlier.

"So you're seeing someone then?"

This was the awkward question that Mercedes hadn't wanted to ask but she was struggling with thinking of any other topic.

"Yeah actually," he said back to that. "I don't know where she's went but she's in Glee," he said, looking around obviously trying to find this girlfriend. "She's great. What about you?"

"Yeah, yeah," Mercedes told him. "His name's Shane, he joined at the start of the year. I met him a couple of months after you, you know, left."

"Well, I'm happy for us," Sam said, but Mercedes couldn't help see the doubt cross his face and she figured that he was as caught up in the what ifs as she was. It was nothing though. Sam would walk away after today, she'd never see him again and her life would resume. She wouldn't feel this way again because she never would be forced to properly look at and examine how she felt about those first weeks of summer.

"Go on, everyone's probably dying to see you, they can't stop talking about you."

Mercedes pushed him towards the group who stood at the side of the room, in a circle discussing important things, as she turned to go back to the bathroom.

"It was great to see you again," he said, smiling at her, before walking away to the New Directions.

She replied, "Same," as she walked into the bathroom, smiling at him.

She just guessed over time, she wouldn't have to live with the words what if.

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><p><strong>Or maybe not... I have another part of this planned already, not written, but planned. I am breaking tradition and posting this without marking the story complete because I feel like something is needed to deal with the recent news. Samcedes are my OTP of Glee and I don't care what's happened, I am going to continue to readwrite about them, regardless of what happens.**

**Onto this whole mess, I have my own opinions about what happened. I believe Chord was initially fired, then brought back for talks after the fan backlash but got a crap deal and walked/or the whole 'we want him back' was only done to make him the bad guy. I'm not one to believe what the writers/producers on this show say because everything changes. Take the backpedaling about Lea/Chris/Cory leaving. RM clearly said THEY WOULD NOT BE BACK for season 4 but now we're being told that's not true. **

**Samcedes will live on in my fanfiction and I hope others do the same. **

**Hope you enjoy, and till the next update,**

**WickedSong x**


	2. New Directions Ten Year Reunion, 2019

**You Are The Reason For The Words 'What If'**

**Written by WickedSong**

**Disclaimer : Look at the previous chapter.**

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><p>Sam Evans pulled up outside his old high school, having a battle with himself on whether he should go in or not. It was a fight he had been having since he had received the invitation to the reunion and he had eventually decided to come to Lima, even if he was still having doubts about entering the building at all.<p>

Yes, he had been a member of Glee, as Rachel had rightly pointed out when he had sent back an email asking if he would really be welcome there, but it was only for a year before he had to leave again. He hadn't left everyone on the best terms, unable to tell everyone but one that he and his family were going back to Tennessee to stay with his grandparents due to them being kicked out on the streets from their motel room.

His phone hadn't been charged and he wouldn't have been able to charge it until they reached Tennessee and that was a car ride that went on for around seven hours. His father had told him he could only tell one of his friends as time wouldn't permit them to tell them all. His parents weren't being unreasonable, he knew. It was just the way things had to be.

He had no idea who he would tell. Quinn and Kurt had been great when they had found out about his family at first, helping with his siblings, and Kurt also bringing him clothes. Then when the rest of the club found it they were also really good about it, chipping in to buy back his guitar and also helping out with watching his brother and sister when they could.

But through this there was one person who deserved a face to face explanation.

Mercedes.

They may have only been together for three weeks and it wouldn't last now that he was going away because of how new it was but he knew that she was someone who acted tough on the outside, brought out the 'diva' to hide the loneliness she felt. She had confided that in him one night and he would have never forgiven himself if he had just upped and left without telling her face to face.

Sam was brought out of his thoughts and brought back to the present day by his phone going off. He looked at the screen, saw it was a text from Stevie and quickly sent one back, reassuring his younger brother, who although now being seventeen still had a close relationship with him, he had arrived in Lima alright. This distraction from thinking about the night his family had left Lima had Sam staring back up at the school.

He had met them all again at Nationals seven years ago, when he had performed with his school's show choir but it had been a brief discussion with them before the top ten list was posted. They had both made it to the Showcase but New Directions came out on top, winning the entire thing, surpassing even Vocal Adrenaline who had, many had admitted, lost some of their previous spark.

Even though he had met them, they didn't keep in touch again. Even with technology, he couldn't quite bring himself to find out about the going ons at his old school without feeling like he was missing a huge part of his own self. It was stupid though It had been a year. A year at a school where he had been cheated on, been accused of cheating, had jokes constantly made about the size of his mouth, had been beaten up and in fights.

And yet he had missed it.

And even though it was only three weeks they had had together as a couple, he had missed her.

Sam shook his head, ready to start his car back up, ready to just leave and not come back ever again. Lima, Ohio had been his home for a year, it was a place where he didn't belong and he never had. He kept telling himself this but he knew he couldn't run away from it.

Steeling himself, he opened the car door, jumped out, locked the doors and then slowly walked into William McKinley High School.

He remembered the last time he had walked these halls remarkably well. He had walked them not knowing it would be his last time. It had been with Mercedes. No one had been around so he had grabbed her hand, causing her to smile, one of those blinding, amazing, everything is ten times better, smiles. He had smiled back, before catching sight of Tina and Mike walking towards them and promptly letting go of her hand.

They were going to be good at keeping this thing a secret, he had thought.

But it wasn't eight years ago, it was the present and he hadn't seen Mercedes since Nationals when they had met and discussed the year they had both had since he had been gone. That was _seven_ years ago.

She was dating a new guy, Shane, he remembered his name was, and he had felt extremely foolish for thinking that she still maybe thought of him sometimes like he sometimes maybe thought of her, even if he had had a girlfriend at that point.

What ifs and the what could have been were two of the most annoying things in the world and he felt as if they never really got a chance when they could have been great together. He scratched the 'could' from his mind, he knew, somewhere deep down and he wasn't sure how, that they _would _have been great together, given the opportunity to see where the relationship took them.

Sighing, Sam stood outside the choir room, at the side of the door, not sure if he should just go in or wait a moment.

"Sam?"

He opened his eyes to see Quinn standing there, a confused expression on her face at him just standing there but she shook her head and hugged him.

"Hey Quinn," Sam said returning the hug. He pulled back and looked at her. She still looked the same, from what he could see, only older. Her face was still the same, same eyes, same blonde hair, but more mature, perhaps even more wiser. "How are you?"

"Oh, great," she replied, smiling. She then went on to tell him how she had moved to Chicago a couple of years after graduating McKinley and managed to secure an internship at a magazine there. It was small work, she had told him, at first, but then she had managed to work her way up, now being a writer for it.

Quinn Fabray, the girl who had always been afraid of being stuck in Lima, had managed to work her way out of it.

This actually made Sam wonder what the rest of the group had been up to. He had heard about Kurt, who had moved to New York after graduation and successfully opened up his own fashion label and there had been a buzz growing around Rachel and a promising Broadway career after she had recently understudied to great acclaim on a show.

Everyone else he had fallen out of touch with, not even attending the weddings he was invited to. When it had been Mike and Tina's, he had had to work, Rachel and Finn, he had made up some excuse and for the various others he had always just sent back a no.

He didn't know why he did this. He just didn't think he deserved to be there, because of the way he left and the abrupt nature of it all.

Quinn walked into the choir room and he followed behind her to see mostly every member of New Directions, past and present. There were the people he had never seen before who had joined the club after the Nationals he had competed in with his school, the other people who he very vaguely recognised as being members during Nationals of 2012 and of course there were those who had been there when he had attended.

"Sam! You made it!" Rachel said, smiling when she noticed him. She also turned to Quinn and smiled brightly at her, hugging her. Sam guessed that the two must have worked through their differences during senior year. He was glad. It was too long to hold high school grudges.

Rachel took Sam's arm and pulled him over to a group of the guys. Finn, Artie, Puck and Mike were discussing something when they stopped, noticing him standing there.

"Dude!"

All four of them seemed to speak in unison as they greeted him, Mike and Puck giving him a one armed hug, with Finn clapping him on the back and Artie smiling at him.

His friends had missed him.

He had almost forgotten how much of a family New Directions really were, how close they all were to one another and how when one was in a crisis, no matter how much bad blood between another member and them, they would always come through. They had proven that when they had found out about his family. He realised just how much he missed the family feeling of his previous club.

He chatted with his four friends and another guy with dark skin, who joined them when he arrived. He found out that this was Matt Rutherford, the member of New Directions who had transferred the year that Sam came to the school.

Matt seemed to be the opposite of him though. Matt had been there following high school, he had attended the weddings and functions that involved every person who had been in the club since it had been formed ten years previously by Mr. Schue. Matt had only been there for a year as well.

As everyone drifted off towards tables with refreshments or to talk to someone else, Sam found his eyes looking for someone in particular.

When he saw her he felt as if it was eight years ago, at junior prom, and he was sixteen. He was nervously watching her from afar, as she sat at the table alone examining her corsage. He felt as if he should go up and say to her how beautiful she was and take that chance and ask if she would like to dance with him. But he had been struck by his nerves, he had felt his palms suddenly become sweaty and his heartbeat pick up.

But he had eventually asked her and was he glad he did. If he hadn't they might have never formed that tentative friendship following that night, she might have never helped him look after Stacie and Stevie in the times he had asked her if she could, he may have never started to develop feelings for her and he may have never had a relationship with her.

People could call it a summer fling which ended before it really began but those three weeks were more to him; so much more than anyone could have expected; not him, not her, not anyone.

And suddenly he was back in the present and he was twenty-four and Mercedes Jones was sitting at a table, alone, while everyone else talked around the room. She might have just needed a moment to herself but he would go up and speak to her.

As he walked he was again back at prom, nervously wondering if she would reject his proposal to dance.

When he finally reached the table, she looked up at him and smiled at him.

"Hey there," he said to her, then and there, remembering how she had looked unsure when he had asked her to dance but that when she had taken his hand it had felt _right_. Then they had had a good time following that, dancing the night away, she letting him pull some of his more dorky moves out on the dancefloor. If he had been with Quinn or Santana he was sure they would have walked off.

Mercedes didn't. She was cool with him being his dorky self, even doing the robot with him.

But he had to remind himself that it wasn't eight years ago, it wasn't prom and they had both changed since then. Well, he supposed she had, and he knew he had.

"Hey," she replied, smiling up at him. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" she questioned, looking up at him from her seat. She quickly stood though and hugged him. It was strange though. It had been eight years but this felt like that hug at Nationals, that one moment of pure elation and she was the only person he had wanted to share it with, even if she was right across the stage.

"Yeah, it's been seven years."

"That's a long time," noted Mercedes, nodding her head. As she did so, she looked around the room and Sam followed suit. Finn and Rachel were talking with Puck, Quinn and Artie, Kurt and Blaine with two people he didn't recognise, Mike was still talking to Matt and Tina was also speaking to people he didn't know. Brittany and Santana were also discussing something with another group of people he didn't know.

The amount of people who he didn't know really put in perspective just how popular New Directions must have become. Of course, becoming Nationals champions would do that to any club.

"Walk with me?" asked Sam. When she nodded, the two slipped out of the choir room unnoticed, everyone else wrapped up in their conversations to really care that they weren't there or to really wonder where they were going.

They walked in near silence, Sam hoping that nothing in the school had changed too drastically and that he could still get to where he wanted without any problems. When they came to the doors, Mercedes turned to him, looking confused.

"The gym? You wanted to walk to the gym?"

Sam shook his head, opening the door and he was surprised to see that the gym of William McKinley High hadn't changed in eight years. It was strange that it hadn't changed and yet it was welcome, it was a constant thing, like the school, like the New Directions as a whole. When you had been through as much change and strife as his family, a constant in life was one thing you clung to desperately, hoping that it wouldn't disappear.

"There is a reason," he told her and he paused, wondering if she would perhaps pick up on the reason. When she did not he said, quite simply, his voice cool, even and calm, "Junior prom."

"Oh."

He looked over at her face. Her expression obviously meant that she was thinking about prom, about that one night that had suddenly changed everything between them in as much detail as he was. Heck, he had been thinking about it so much he had brought her back to where it had been held, where it had, in a way, all began. He smiled, suddenly feeling very brave, daring almost. "Would you like to dance?"

"Boy, there's no music in here," she said, smiling at him. He held out his hand though, turning to her and she took it. He walked over to the middle of the gym, and then pulled her in close.

He wasn't sure how long they swayed there in the silence, in the gym, and he honestly didn't care. He was reliving in his mind, one of the best nights of his life. It hadn't been because of the setting, or the atmosphere, or the songs sung (he still couldn't figure out why Puck and Artie wanted to sing Friday on that Saturday night and how they managed to rope him in it as well), no it had been because of this woman with him now.

The thoughts clouded his brain again. What would have happened had he stayed? He really tried to think that through and all he could see was her. He could see her smile, he could hear her laugh, her voice. That made him know that he would've been with her. He was serious when he had realised that it wasn't a case of they _could _have been good together, it was a knowing feeling.

"So what have you been up to?" he asked, wanting to know about her life now.

She told him how she had went off to college and then followed Kurt and Rachel to New York where she had been trying to start a career in music. She hadn't been successful in this, until recently when a producer just happened to walk into the bar she was singing at that night in order to make enough money to pay her rent. He had told her they'd be interested in meeting her and she was due to have that meeting the week after the reunion.

Sam was extremely happy for her. She was talented, she was amazing and she definitely deserved this chance at the big time. He had never doubted it though. They may have not talked much pre-prom but he had always admired her talent from afar.

His interest was also piqued when she mentioned, quite casually, though he was sure he saw a glint of question in her eyes directed at him when she told him, that she was single. He had asked about Shane but she explained that they had broken things off mutually by the end of the first year of college. Their hearts, she told him, just hadn't been in the relationship any more but they were still good friends.

He would deny it because many would deem it strange for him to feel this way eight years down the line, but his heart did a little jump of joy in his chest. He could barely contain his delight when he also mentioned, trying as casually as she had, but obviously failing, that he was also not seeing anyone.

There had been girlfriends through the years but none that were too serious.

"So wait, we're both single and slow dancing in the gym," she commented. "What time machine did we take?"

Sam laughed at this. It did feel like those years ago. "It's always been one of my biggest regrets, you know."

"What has?" she questioned. He looked down at her face, and she looked up at him, their eyes meeting for a minute before he took that chance right there and kissed her.

He still remembered their first kiss, that night in the hotel room when everyone else had left to get some air and he first asked her out. He remembered how nervous he had been but how when they kissed it all seemed to disappear and he felt so comfortable with her.

When they pulled away from the sweet, innocent kiss, he smiled at her, before replying, "That."

He wasn't sure what her next reaction would be. He wasn't sure whether she would reject him and walk away and he was pretty sure she was going to. She couldn't have been wondering about him all of these years like he had sometimes wondered about her.

So he was surprised when she looked up at him, eyes twinkling, her happiness clearly evident by the smile on her face. "I've been waiting for that for eight years."

She leaned in and she initiated the kiss this time before they both pulled away again, obviously both happy but also unsure about this new thing. This new _old _thing, Sam noted in his mind, naming it for what it was, for the second chance that was forming in his mind.

"So what are we? Boyfriend and girlfriend again?" he asked.

"I'd like that," she replied, nodding her head. "Two adults, who like each other, who used to have a small thing and have decided to try again."

"I'd like that too," he told her and he quickly took her hand.

They walked hand in hand out of the gym, and through the hallways of the school, back to the choir room, where their absence may have been noticed now.

Before they walked in they let go of each other's hands quickly, Sam walking in first, following inconspicuously by Mercedes a minute or so later. Everyone still seemed absorbed in their own discussions or world to sense anything between them.

Sam walked over to her as she stood behind the table he had saw her sitting at, what seemed like ages ago. He loved that there was a feeling of new hope, of a second chance, of a relationship that lasted beyond three weeks and was cruelly ripped away from the both of them.

"Do you think they know?" he asked.

From behind the table he felt a warm hand slip into his. He smiled at her, feeling reassured.

"I don't think anyone knows."

There was going to be a lot to figure out but that could be done later because right now he was holding her hand and it felt great.

Maybe there wouldn't be a need for the words what if anymore.

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><p><strong>I don't know how I feel about this one in particular but I really wanted to write this. The ideas for how to do this one have just been running around in my head and to get them down is liberating, to say the least.<strong>

**Hope you enjoyed this one. Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter, I replied to you all with my thanks but it's here again because I'm just so freaking grateful!**

**Hope to write some more Samcedes soon but until then,**

**WickedSong x**


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